Technology is Scary

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, we were the only folks on the block with a computer. Back when floppy disks were actually floppy and printer paper had perforated lines. We even had the internet before most people, when AOL was supreme. Oregon Trail and Reader Rabbit were the hot games, but we weren’t allowed to play until we practiced our typing on Mavis Beacon.

Back in those days I felt me and my sisters were so lucky. We were fortunate to have technology that other kids dreamed of having. That’s why many of the kids loved to hate us.

Now, as an adult, technology is at an all time high. AOL no longer rules the internet and there are more games to play than I can count. Floppy disks are now the hard square disks (why they’re called floppy, I have no idea).

I honestly feel like I’ve lived in the stone age between childhood and now. Where I once was ahead of the curve, now I find myself flustered by all the transformations technology has made. To be totally honest, technology is scary to me now and truthfully I feel inferior.

This could have a lot to do with the fact that my teenage daughter knows how to get around the internet way better than I do. There are so many social media sites that sometimes I feel I’m being antisocial. Every possible news outlet resides on the internet, so even if I buy a paper, I’m still missing out. You don’t even have to sit at a computer anymore; everything can be accessed via phone or tablet.

So, as scary as technology has become for me, I decided to start embracing it instead of hanging my hat on all the skills I had when I was a youth. To start, I finally upgraded my phone from a lower model that was only good for making calls and sending texts to a Windows 8 phone (I’m actually writing this post on the phone). The next step is a tablet, but one step at a time.

In purchasing the new phone and acknowledging my technological awkwardness, I hope that I can begin to embrace it to the point of working for me instead of against me. There is still a level of uneasiness that comes with all this but as long as I am a willing participant, things should work out for the best.